Resumen (otros idiomas)

Antagonists of the tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF-α) have become the most widely used biological therapies for patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). However, despite an impressive overall clinical impact, more than one quarter of patients still have a poor response to these biological agents. There is a great need for predictive factors of response to anti-TNF-α since these drugs may have side effects and are costly. The rheumatoid factor (RF) and antibodies to citrullinated peptides (ACPA) have been studied by several groups as serological parameters to monitor disease activity in patients treated with anti-TNF-α. At the moment the relationship between these autoantibodies and the response to anti-TNF-α is not absolute and clearly defined. It is remarkable that none of these studies considered the free levels of the drug and did not differentiate between primary and secondary efficacy losses, due to the presence of anti-drug antibodies...